Sunday, March 25, 2012

Speaking of Green...Nettles

I'm sure you were all so good as to not drink green beer last weekend. Beer, yes,perhaps.

There are some yummy green things you may drink to your healthy advantage, however. One of those is a rich green tea made from fresh stinging nettles.

O, come on, don't be a baby. Yes, they are called stinging nettles for a reason and you must be very respectful in the harvesting of them.

But when they are immersed in boiling water, they get soft and safe. I filled a cookpot with fresh nettles and poured boiling water over them from the kettle. Covered them and let them steep for a couple of hours and then strained the tea through cheesecloth and put it in a half gallon mason jar.

I drank some hot, with a bit of honey from the Lost Hive. And I drank it cold all day yesterday and some today.

It's a great spring tonic and a deliciously verdant drink.

Here they are, with the tongs that made them safe to handle. Blessed be the tongs!